Thoughts from the interface of science, religion, law and culture

After spending several years touring the country as a stand up comedian, Ed Brayton tired of explaining his jokes to small groups of dazed illiterates and turned to writing as the most common outlet for the voices in his head. He has appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show and the Thom Hartmann Show, and is almost certain that he is the only person ever to make fun of Chuck Norris on C-SPAN.

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Al Qaeda Joins the Right in Opposing Marriage Equality

One of the familiar arguments from the loony right is that there is some sort of liberal-Muslim axis working together to destroy America, which is all the more amusing because the ideology of reactionary Islam that they’re referring to is far less similarly to liberalism than it is to the brand of social conservatism promoted by those who make this moronic argument. In fact, Al Qaeda is now joining those folks in condemning Obama for supporting marriage equality.

Al Qaeda says the United States has another crime to add to its litany of atrocities: support for same-sex marriage.

In the latest issue of Inspire, the Al Qaeda-produced English-language magazine that teaches readers how to cause traffic accidents, torch parked cars, and “make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom,” the terrorist group goes after President Barack Obama for “evolving” on marriage equality. In an infographic titled “The Nation Standing on ‘No Values,” the magazine also goes after “gay congressman” Barney Frank, who is no longer a congressman.

The image in this article is of Obama saying he’s evolving on same-sex marriage and then a picture of Barney Frank actually getting married. Funny, that sounds pretty much exactly like the rhetoric we hear from conservative, doesn’t it?

Go up to every Tea Party person and tell them that Al Qaeda and them share something in common, opposing the right for gay men and lesbian women (and bisexual persons) to marry someone of their same sex.

Watch as in 24 hours, the Tea Party suddenly becomes pro marriage equality.

I think it’d take a concerted, continuous effort to liken wingnuttery to Al Qaeda for it to sink in. If successful, I’m not all that sure they’d respond in the way we’d want them to, given all the fatwa envy and cries of how much more moral radical Islamists are for executing gays.

“Funny, that sounds pretty much exactly like the rhetoric we hear from conservative, doesn’t it?”

That’s because it’s pretty much the same religion. Religious conflict can be thought of as a fight for market share.
Pepsi doesn’t care what brand of pants you buy. They care if you buy a different brand of fizzy sugar water almost indistinguishable from their own.

They’ll just claim that the gay-atheist-Muslim alliance is playing a game of misdirection. They have the secret decoder ring that proves that gay marriage to illegal immigrants is mandatory under Sharia law.

Go up to every Tea Party person and tell them that Al Qaeda and them share something in common, opposing the right for gay men and lesbian women (and bisexual persons) to marry someone of their same sex.

Watch as in 24 hours, the Tea Party suddenly becomes pro marriage equality.

Kevin #9, This, definitely this. The wingnuts have been pounding their chests for years screaming to never give in to terrorists. Of course their idea of not giving in is to go out and kill them and anyone who looks like them. But if Obama is doing something Al Qaeda doesn’t like, he is endangering us. That would be typical wingnut logic.

Back in the 90’s I read a magazine article about a conference held in Europe between fundie members of the three Abrahamic religions had in an attempt to bridge their differences. Much to their discomfort they found that they didn’t disagree on all that much.

If anyone has knowledge of this conference please ID for me, I’ve never been able to find mention of it on the net.

And P.S.; Why didn’t logging in with my google ID allow me to comment?, I’d like to able to use capitalization and spaces on my tag.

thepalescot @11: that sounds familiar. While I don’t recall specfics of that particular conference, I do remember in the mid to late-90s coming across more than a few American right-wing commentators (particularly in the “Conservative Chronicle”) who had mostly good things to say about Islam in particular because of its “stand against liberalism” and its stressing the importance of a “god-centered life” as opposed to the “self-centered nihilism” of modernity, or some such high-sounding rubbish. I specifically remember Peter Kreeft waxing on a lot about building “ecumenical bridges” between Islam and Christianity in order to roll back the tide of modernity…hell, I think I remember Cal Thomas saying some nice things but Islam as well, and all for the same reasons. Charley Reese too, perhaps….

@11 thepalescot / @12 brianthomas: My very Muslim parents used to love listening to conservative talk radio because of the social values narrative and Bush II courted the Muslim vote before his first Presidential election. A lot of American Muslims were Republicans in the 90s because of the model minority + social values angle. Of course, post 9-11, a lot of that camaraderie faded, but to this day, the LDS Church and some Muslim charities work hand-in-hand.

Frederick Phol noticed the similarity between the Christian Right and Muslim extermists back in the early ’80’s in his para-time story “The Coming of the Quantum Cats”. In one timeline an archconservative Nancy Reagan became president backed in part by a merger between Baptists and the PLO.

I’ve seen several recent articles about this Al Qaeda magazine lately, including here at FtB with PZ and Ed. But do we really know that this magazine is real? Has anyone confirmed that this magazine is actually tied to Al Qaeda?

The Jewish born agains in Israel ain’t no better. Back when the first gay pride march was held in Jerusalem, one of the Imams proposed to one of the right wing rabbis that he would get his parishioners to start a riot several miles away from the route of the march to draw the police away from the march route so that the rabbi’s parishioners could attack the marchers unimpeded by police intervention. Ordinarily those guys wouldn’t be caught dead talking to each other.